On November 4, FC Seoul were defeated 0-4 to Gangwon F.C. on the 37th round of the 2017 KEB Hana Bank K League Classic at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon.

Seoul adopted a 4-3-3 formation for their line-up. Dejan Damjanovic stood on the cusp of the forward line with Kim Han-gil and Yun Il-lok backing him up from each wing position. In the middle, Lee Myung-joo and Ju Se-jong were positioned on the back, with Lee Sang-ho standing on the front. Lee Kyu-ro and Shin Kwang-hoon took up each of the sides on the four-back defense line, with Hwang Hyun-soo and Lee Woong-hee filling up the rest of the space in the center. Yang Han-been complemented the line-up as goalkeeper.

During the early minutes of the game, Seoul boasted solid defense. Lee Woong-hee and Hwang Hyun-soo fended off the early attempts, adding stability to Seoul’s defense. Halfway through the first half, Seoul’s midfield began to step up. The visitors increased their ball possession and pressured the opponents with a thorough web of precision passes. Driving up the momentum, Seoul had Lee Sang-ho unleashing the first shot on target for FC Seoul, but the ball flew directly to the goalkeeper.

Seoul made a constant effort to stir Gangwon’s defense. In the 32nd minute, Dejan collected a pass from Yun Il-lok to have a go, but the shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 35th minute, Ju Se-jong sent a powerful shot, which ended up hitting the bar.

In the 38th minute, a penalty kick was called on Seoul’s side of the pitch, and a VAR was conducted. According to the video analysis, Hwang Hyun-soo was shown a red card, and a free kick was given to the hosts. In the 42nd minute, Seoul substituted Kwak Tae-wi for Hwang Hyun-soo, but the visitors conceded an opener in the 43rd minute of the first half, when the defense was yet to put back together.

A chance came up for Dejan upon the start of the latter half, but it did not translate into a goal. In the second minute, Lee Myung-joo delivered a pass towards Dejan, but it did not lead to a shot on target. During the early minutes of the latter half, Seoul made a concerted effort to make up for the vacuum of a player.

In the 18th minute, Go Yo-han was substituted in place of Yun Il-lok. It did not take a lot of time for Go to rev up his engine. While the visitors seemed almost insulated from the numbers disadvantage during the early minutes, the armor began to crack in the 30th minute when the team allowed one more goal. In the 33rd minute, Seoul substituted Park Chu-young for Ju Se-jong in a bid to turn the tables around. Despite their arduous efforts, Seoul allowed the third goal to Gangwon in the 39th minute. The team conceded yet another goal during the injury time, closing the game at 0-4 in the end.

The next fixture will be a home match against Jeju United, which is slated for the 19th of November. Seoul will capitalize on the week-long break from the national team schedules to get back in shape and put a successful end to 2017 season.